§ Mr. Barry FieldTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures he has adopted to enforce the provisions of the agricultural wages order; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerThe Agricultural Wages Act 1947 requires the appropriate Minister to undertake prosecutions in order to enforce the provisions of the agricultural wages order in those cases where prosecution is considered appropriate. I and the Secretary of State for Wales have therefore arranged additional training for agricultural wages inspectors so that they are better able to meet the rigorous requirements of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 when preparing cases for prosecution.
Up to now, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Welsh Office Agricultural Department have taken civil court action to recover the underpayment of workers' wages. The deterrent effect of recovery actions of this kind is marginal and not commensurate with the resource costs involved. The Secretary of State for Wales and I have therefore decided to discontinue taking civil actions of this kind and to concentrate on criminal prosecutions. Civil actions can still be undertaken by the worker, or by the workers' union on his or her behalf, as indeed they are now. With the consent of the worker concerned, my officials will assist such actions by the provision of information obtained during the investigations of the agricultural wages inspectors.
My right hon. Friend and I are confident that this approach will result in a more effective enforcement effort, to the advantage of the worker and the industry as a whole.